Transaction accounting auditing approach and system therefor

ABSTRACT

Accounting data is classified to facilitate transaction processing and management. According to an example embodiment, data based rules are implemented for classifying transaction-related data into accounting categories. Accounting information is processed as a function of the data based rules and accordingly automatically classified. This processing involves, for example, the identification of particular data based rules to apply to the accounting information, applying the rules and processing the information accordingly.

RELATED PATENT DOCUMENTS

This patent document claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S.Provisional Patent Applications, No. 60/578,244, entitled “AutomatedTransaction Processing System and Approach” and No. 60/578,376, entitled“Transaction Data Exchange System and Approach,” both filed on Jun. 9,2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to data processing interactions and,more specifically, to the auditing of recorded accounting data relatedto the transfer of goods and/or services.

BACKGROUND

Data transaction processing and related expense tracking has typicallyinvolved intensive manual effort and, in instances where automaticprocessing has been used, intensive user intervention. For example,transaction processes involve the use of a variety of transactiondocuments such as orders, invoices, receipts and bills of lading (BOL).These types of transaction documents include information associated withthe transaction that is used by parties to the transaction to monitorand process the transaction.

Data transaction documents are electronically processed for a multitudeof different types of business applications. Interaction data (e.g.,electronic or physical documents) describing characteristics of aparticular transaction often includes a multitude of types ofinformation that are presented in many different formats. In addition,when such an interaction involves the sale of a product from a seller toa buyer, there are often multiple parties to the transaction in additionto the buyer and seller, such as shippers, financial institutions,distributors and regulatory agencies (e.g., customs, taxation agencies).Often, transaction data from one party is not in a format that isreadily discernible relative to data from other parties, requiringextensive effort to organize the data from different parties intocategories. Parsing electronic documents and other types of data inorder to identify and categorize transaction data can be a timeconsuming and expensive task, while also being highly susceptible toerror.

A variety of transactions are particularly susceptible to processingdifficulties relating to transaction data identification andcategorization. For example, pre-payment reconciliation and auditing fora particular business transaction are often automatically carried outelectronically at a transaction processor. Documents or othertransaction information used for these functions can arrive at thetransaction processor in either an untimely manner or in a format thatis unsuitable for identification and categorization of the documentsinto particular transactions. Documents relating to a single transactionmay well use different accounting codes for the same information. Inaddition, different users (business entities) often implement differenttypes of accounting classification approaches, with the accounting codesbeing applicable to one or more accounting classifications.

Another type of incompatibility that has made transaction processingdifficult is related to the common scenario wherein reference numbers orcodes used by different parties to identify a particular transaction orto identify data within a transaction are not compatible. For example,in transactions involving buyers and sellers, sellers maintaintransaction data organized by reference numbers or codes generated bythe seller. Buyers typically must access the data using a seller'sreference number or codes rather than the buyer's reference number. Inaddition, buyers and sellers typically use different reference numbersor codes for different characteristics of the transaction, making themonitoring and management of the transaction difficult. Moreover, otherparties to the transaction wishing to obtain transaction data may wellneed to obtain specific access to the party's codes for classificationof the data. For instance, where a monitoring agency is to gather andprocess transaction data such as expense and revenue data, the agencymust typically learn the particular party's system in order to processexpense, revenue and other data.

Expense related aspects such as payment and billing of traditionaltransactions are particularly susceptible to billing errors and fraud.For example, there often is little to no connection between expendituresand the type of expense in which the expenditure is to be classified.This may result in improper classification or no classification at all.Auditing errors related to improper expense classification may then alsooccur. In addition, other aspects of a transaction, such the entry ofinformation into an accounting system (e.g., a General Ledger) and/orthe use of data for tax or auditing purposes, can often be delayed whileaspects of a particular transaction are being identified andcategorized. For example, an improper expense classification may takemonths to discover, with associated functions (e.g., realizing a taxreduction in relation to a business expense) being correspondinglydelayed.

Accounting-related information is also particularly susceptible toerrors and fraud. For instance, when data on invoices or other documentsis manually coded to accounting codes, there is significant opportunityfor individuals to inadvertently, or sometimes even deliberately,misunderstand classification policy and record the expense against thewrong accounting code. When costs are rolled up at end of period,certain cost categories may look like they are within guideline when, infact, significant expense have simply been booked to different accounts.

Accounting-related errors, accidental or otherwise, are detrimental fora variety of reasons. Proper accounting classification of accountingdata is key to corporate compliance with rules related to the GenerallyAccepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) standards in general andSarbanes-Oxley Act in particular. In fact, without reliable accountingclassification, a company's profit and loss (P&L) statement generallydoes not provide a reliable indicator of the company's financial health.

Additional costs also arise as a result of existing inefficiencies in avariety of transaction-processing approaches. Many of the costs areindividually small, but very large in the aggregate. For example,typical parties to transactions incur administrative costs includingthose relating to the costs for creating and delivering transactiondocuments, resolving billing disputes, providing a signed copy ofdocuments to other parties and posting accounts receivable. In addition,the cost of parsing, recognizing and categorizing documents related tothese and other items add to the administrative costs of transactions.

An additional challenge to transaction management involves the inabilityto obtain immediate information regarding a transaction. Transactiondata from one party is typically not readily available to other partiesto the transaction without direct access to private-party systems. Sincethe process is largely conducted manually, it is very. difficult totrack a transaction and real-time data is particularly difficult to comeby. For example, there are various manual steps involved in order tolearn of the status of shipment or payment, which are exasperated whenline item entries in transaction documents such as invoices are shippedat different times, received at different times or approved (ordisapproved) at varied instances.

The above and other difficulties in the management and coordination ofbusiness transactions have presented challenges to the effective andefficient management of business transactions.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to overcoming the above-mentionedchallenges and others related to the types of approaches andimplementations discussed above and in other applications. The presentinvention is exemplified in a number of implementations andapplications, some of which are summarized below.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, dataprocessing interactions are managed using an approach generallyinvolving the use of transaction data based rules for classifying and/orprocessing accounting-related aspects of the transactions for whichpayment is authorized.

In another example embodiment of the present invention, a transaction isaudited as a function of contract terms agreed to by a buyer of merchantofferings and a seller of the merchant offerings. Transaction data, asrecorded on behalf of one of the buyer and the seller, is auditedagainst line-item-accounting-classification rules provided by one of thebuyer and the seller. This approach may be implemented, for example, toaudit in accordance with a particular user's established accountingapproaches, such that a general set of accounting data (e.g., grouped byorder, invoice or seller) is specifically classified into appropriateaccounting categories on a line-item by line-item basis. In this regard,transaction data processed in accordance with other approaches (e.g.,payment approval approaches implementing an invoice-specific paymentapproach) can be further processed to ensure accurate and accountableassignment of accounting codes.

In a more particular example embodiment of the present invention, rulesare used to automatically classify accounting data for parties to atransaction, the rules being defined as a function of the parties and/orthe transaction. Accounting information is associated with a particularset of rules and processed in accordance with the rules. In someinstances, the processing involves assigning accounting codes to theaccounting information. In other instances, accounting codes areassigned as a function of a transaction party for which the accountinginformation is being processed.

In another example embodiment of the present invention, line-itementries are classified, the line-item entries being specific totransaction-based documents characterizing merchant offerings betweentransaction parties subject to a contract. In general, the line-itementries correspond to transaction data processed in a transactionprocessing system that automatically audits and facilitates payment fora multitude of transactions involving different transaction parties.Each processed transaction-based document is associated with atransaction party as a function of a user profile for the transactionparty and information in the transaction-based document. Payment forindividual line-item entries in the transaction-based document isauthorized as a function of business rules for the associatedtransaction party, the line-item entries and the contract. For eachline-item entry in the transaction-based document, in response topayment being authorized for the line-item entry, an accountingclassification code is assigned to the line item accounting data as afunction of the line item accounting data and business rules for theassociated transaction party. Data including a payment amountrepresenting the line-item entry is stored in association with theassigned accounting classification code, facilitating the tracking ofaccounting code assignment and, where appropriate, compliance withaccounting-classification type rules and regulations.

In yet another example embodiment of the present invention, atransaction-processing system is adapted for facilitating transactionsinvolving merchant offerings (e.g., goods and/or services) among partiesincluding buyers and sellers, aspects of each transaction bearing on apreviously-provided agreement by the parties and being characterized byat least one transaction-based document. The system includes a databankand a computer/processing arrangement that work together to storerespective accounting codes in the databank for each of a plurality ofparties. Transaction data based rules associated with the accountingcodes and stored in the databank are used to apply the stored accountingcodes to accounting data indicated via the at least onetransaction-based document and therein, advance progress towardcompletion of the previously-provided agreement.

The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describeeach illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the presentinvention. The figures and detailed description that follow moreparticularly exemplify these embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of thedetailed description of various embodiments of the invention inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a transaction processing arrangement, according to anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A shows a transaction processing arrangement for separatelytracking and auditing accounting data for regulatory-type compliancefunctions, according to another example embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an approach for transaction managementinvolving the application of accounting codes to transaction data,according to another example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram for transaction management involving theassignment'of accounting codes to accounting data as a function oftransaction data based rules and corresponding management of theaccounting data, according to another example embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for an approach to transaction management withinvoice approval and General Ledger account code assignment for a buyer,according to another example embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for an approach to transaction management withaccounting data classification and compliance processing, according toanother example embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternativeforms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in thedrawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the intention is not necessarily to limit the invention tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is believed to be applicable to a variety ofdifferent types of business approaches and interactions, and has beenfound to be particularly useful for applications involving dataprocessing of transactions including accounting data and other relatedaspects thereof. While the present invention is not necessarily limitedto such approaches, various aspects of the invention may be appreciatedthrough a discussion of examples using these and other contexts.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, storedaccounting-type information is used to automatically classifyaccounting-related data, such as expense and/or revenue data, for aparticular transaction. Accounting-related data is parsed at atransaction arrangement and, using the stored accounting-typeinformation, accounting codes are automatically applied to theaccounting-related data. With this approach, discrepancies (intentionaland unintentional) in the assignment of accounting codes toaccounting-related data can be reduced or even eliminated.

According to another example embodiment of the present invention, dataprocessing interactions are managed using an approach that facilitatescategorization of certain interaction data including accounting data asa function of accounting code characteristics of the data. Interactiondata from an accounting document and another source (e.g., anotherdocument and/or a user profile source) is used to assign data from theaccounting document into one or more particular interaction categories.Accounting data such as expenses and revenues included in theinteraction data is automatically categorized and, where appropriate,used to update related interaction data. For instance, expense datareceived from an invoice payment document can be used to automaticallyupdate appropriate ledger-type accounts as a function of expenseclassification functions that are predefined in a user profile. Theseledger-type accounts may, for example, represent total expenditures fora particular business entity under a particular expense classification.Revenue data can be processed in a manner similar to the above-discussedprocessing of expense data. With these approaches, business interactiondata is automatically categorized into groups that can be used toidentify documents and other business interaction data under selectedaccounting functions.

According to another example embodiment of the present invention, atransaction-processing system includes a database having storagelocations for storing user-profile attributes that correspond to aparticular business entity involved in transactions managed by thetransaction processing system, and for storing accounting data tableinformation for tracking accounting-type data. The transactionprocessing system is adapted to categorize transaction data using theuser-profile attributes to define characteristics of the categorization.For instance, accounting-type data is automatically categorized with acode assigned in accordance with the user-profile attributes (e.g., bylabeling particular types of expenses with accounting codes thatidentify the expense as directed by the user-profile attributes). Thesecodes are used in automatically storing the accounting-type data underan accounting data table location in the database. In addition, thiscategorization is selectively carried out using informationconventionally stored without reference to specific accounting codes;where data is stored generally (e.g., simply in connection with a vendoridentification), this approach involves using that stored information torealize a goods/service-specific accounting classification.

In one implementation, users can create and manage configuration tablesto facilitate the definition of accounting codes and theircategorization into data table locations. These definitions are used torelate codified accounting data to a particular category automatically,for example, by storing the data in a data table location identified bythe category or otherwise labeling the codified accounting data with theparticular category. Using the stored location (or label) for thecodified accounting data, data for a particular user is automaticallyrelated to accounting fields (e.g., for the user's General Ledger orother accounting structure).

In another example embodiment of the present invention, atransaction-processing system facilitates transactions involvingmerchant offerings (e.g., goods and/or services) among transactionparties including buyers and sellers. Aspects of each transaction bearon a previously-provided agreement by the parties and are characterizedby at least one transaction-based document. The system includes adatabank and a computer arrangement (e.g., one or more computers, and inthe latter case, the computers being in communication with one another).The computer arrangement is adapted to store respective accounting codesin the databank for each of a plurality of parties. The accounting codesmay, for example, relate to a particular set of expense or revenuefields specified by a particular user, with the codes furtherimplemented for tracking the fields, e.g., in the particular user'sGeneral Ledger. These accounting codes may further relate toregulatory-type compliance rules, such as those implemented to ensurethat a particular entity's accounting processes comply with legal andother standards. In this regard, the computer arrangement usestransaction data based rules associated with the accounting codes andstored in the databank to apply the stored accounting codes to expensesand/or revenues indicated via a transaction-based document. Using thisassociation and application of accounting codes, progress towardcompletion of the previously-provided agreement is advanced, such as byproviding information relative to a payment condition for a particulartransaction and/or by generating accounting data characterizing anaspect of the agreement.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a transaction processingarrangement 100 including a transaction processor 110 (e.g., a computeror computer arrangement) programmed to automatically classify accountinginformation, according to another example embodiment of the presentinvention. The transaction processor 110 is in communication with amemory arrangement 112 where transaction-related information includingsets of rules for classifying accounting information (e.g., accountingcodes) is stored. The memory arrangement 112 (e.g., a databank or seriesof databanks) is shown coupled to the transaction processor 110;however, in various implementations, some or all of the memoryarrangement is part of the transaction processor, is located at a remotelocation and/or includes a plurality of data storage circuits and/ormedia at different locations.

A plurality of user nodes 120, 122, 124, 126 and 128 are communicativelycoupled with the transaction processor 110. The user nodes 120-128 mayinclude any of a variety of user-interface tools for data accessinvolving, for example, a buyer, seller, distributor, shipper, carrier,government agency, financial institution or other type of individual,entity, group or agency that are involved in a transaction. These nodesinteract with the transaction processor 110 for providingtransaction-related information, such as accounting rules, orders,invoices, shipping documents, payment authorization, payment execution,customs documents, security documents and others. In addition, thistransaction-related information may include applicability informationrelating to the information's relationship with accounting data, such aseffective and expiration dates wherein the information's applicabilityis limited to a particular range of dates. In some instances, the nodesare used primarily as interfaces for providing data to the transactionprocessor 110, with users at the nodes being able to providetransaction-related information such as classification rules (e.g.,according to specified formats). In other instances, the transactionprocessor 110 automatically accesses information from the user nodes fora variety of purposes, such as retrieving classification rules (e.g.,accounting codes) or updating related accounting fields. Thisinteraction between the nodes and the transaction processor 110 iscontrolled using, for example, authorization for access such aspassword-protected authorization and others.

When transaction data includes accounting-related data, the transactionprocessor 110 parses the data and automatically identifies andcategorizes (e.g., classifies) the accounting-related data using rulesfor the particular type of data. This categorization is carried outusing, e.g., a categorization engine or other programmed aspect of thetransaction processor 110; where General Ledger data is involved, aGeneral Ledger assignment engine can be implemented, in this regard, toassign General Ledger categorization or codes. Applicable rules may betailored, for example, to a particular party to a transaction or to aparticular accounting class and may involve the assignment ofuser-specific categorization codes, such as a General Ledger code (withassignment of codes implemented for assigning codes used to categorizeaccounting data into a General Ledger). The categorization informationis optionally sent to parties to the transaction to which theaccounting-related data applies. In addition, parties having transactioninformation in the memory arrangement 112 can use this categorization tomonitor and report characteristics of transactions managed by thetransaction processor 110. Accounting rules stored at the transactionprocessor 110 can also be assessed at one of the user nodes and/ordirectly at the transaction processor.

In one implementation, the transaction processor 110 is adapted toautomatically apply transaction data based rules for assigningaccounting codes to transaction data when new transaction-based data isreceived (e.g., in a transaction document). The rules are used by anassignment engine, either part of or separate from the transactionprocessor 110, to assign the accounting codes to the transaction data.When an update to the assignment rules is received at the transactionprocessor 110 (e.g., via one of the user nodes 120-128), a new call toassign accounting codes to data is made by the transaction processor andany corresponding updates are made. For instance, when a transactiondata for a particular user has been assigned a particular accountingcode and that user inputs an update to rules used to assign such codes,the transaction processor 110 automatically updates the code assigned tothe transaction data using the updated rules. Optionally, the userproviding the assignment rule update selectively control the applicationof the updated rules, for example where the user desires to selectivelyapply the updated rules to new transactions.

In some instances, the transaction processor 110 limits and/or tracksaccess to the assignment rules for updating the rules. For example,where the assignment rules are implemented for assigning expense codesfor classifying expense data, the transaction processor 110 isimplemented to limit user access to the assignment rules to inhibitundesirable manipulation of the rules and of data associated with therules. In this regard, an entity implementing the transaction processor110 can ensure that proper expense classification is carried out bylimiting access to expense classification rules and further byautomating the classification process, thereby limiting the chance forerror or intentional manipulation of accounting data.

The transaction processor 110 assigns prices as a function of theassigned accounting codes in connection with another implementation. Theprices are associated with particular accounting codes in the memoryarrangement 112 using, for example, user profile information to set theprices. When accounting data is assigned a particular accounting codethat further includes a price or price structure, the according price orprice structure is automatically assigned to the accounting data.

In another implementation, the transaction processor 110 parses andgroups transaction documents using common attributes to automaticallygroup documents relating to a particular transaction together. Thisautomatic categorization may involve, for example, automaticallyassociating a particular transaction document with one or more users andsubsequently using profile attributes for that user to define theapplication of accounting codes to data in the transaction document. Inone particular example, documents are grouped into categories defined byanchor-type information as discussed in connection with U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/864,761 (USBA.120PA), entitled “AutomatedTransaction Processing System and Approach” and filed on Jun. 9, 2004,which is fully incorporated herein by reference.

In another example embodiment, the transaction processor 110 is furtheradapted to grant and control information exchange with the memoryarrangement 112 as a function of inputs received from the nodes 120-128,such as authorization inputs and transaction-specific inputs. When usersat one of the nodes 120-128 attempt to send information to or retrieveinformation from the transaction processor 110, authorizationinformation from the users is used to control the information transfer.The authorization information may include, for example, access-typeinformation (e.g., a password or user ID) or simply document informationthat the transaction processor 110 recognizes.

When information exchange is controlled with transaction information andone of the nodes 120-128 sends transaction data (e.g., an electronicdocument) to the transaction processor 110, the memory arrangement 112is parsed to match the transaction data with stored information. If amatch is found, the transaction processor 110 processes the transactiondata in accordance with the stored information, e.g., using rules forassigning accounting codes. For example, where the transaction documentgrants authorization to effect payment by a buyer in accordance with apreviously-provided agreement such as a contract, the transaction datais matched with that buyer's stored information, and the buyer'sappropriate expense codes are assigned to the expense data (e.g., toindividual line items). Where the transaction data indicates thatpayment has been received by a seller, the transaction data is matchedto that seller's stored information, with the seller's appropriaterevenue codes being assigned to the transaction payment data and, whereappropriate, to line individual line items in the payment data.

In another example embodiment, the transaction processor 110 is adaptedto store and maintain an accounting structure for a particular businessentity at one of the user nodes. For example, referring to user node128, inputs received via a user interface at the user node are processedby the transaction processor 110 to create a memory arrangement for thebusiness entity. Profile-type information, such as rules for assigningaccounting codes and user access authorization as discussed above isalso input via the user interface at user node 128. With thisinformation, the transaction processor 110 assigns accounting codes andcontrols access to information stored for the business entity inmaintaining the accounting structure. For instance, when profile-typeinformation directs that a particular type of expense be classified intoan accounting category identified with a particular accounting code,that accounting code is assigned to the expense. Such profile-typeinformation can be programmed into the transaction processor 110 using,for example, an algorithm-based program configured to comparetransaction data with assignment rule characteristics and to generate anoutput code such as a valid general ledger code.

In one particular application involving the maintenance of an accountingstructure as discussed above, accounting-type data such as accountingcodes is loaded into the accounting structure via a data interfaceexchange with the business entity's accounting system. For instance,where a business entity at user node 128 employs a particular type ofaccounting system (e.g., hardware and software for a General Ledgersystem), the transaction processor 110 interfaces with the accountingsystem to retrieve or otherwise receive data therefrom. This data fromthe business entity's accounting system is then used by the transactionprocessor 110 to establish the accounting structure. Such data mayinclude, for example, information used to specify effective andexpiration dates (or expiration events) for account codes, which isuseful for proactively loading this information to ensure timelyhandling of the expiration of the account codes.

In another example embodiment, accounting codes used by the transactionprocessor 110 are selectively loaded with information defined by thetransaction processor and/or by users at one or more of the user nodes122-128. For instance, some or all of a particular accounting code canbe based on, for example, particular data values within a transaction towhich the code is applied or defined combinations of transaction data.In an example transaction involving an order from Subsidiary “S” andWarehouse “W” for product class “P,” the order could be directlyclassified to accounting code involving identification characteristicsfor “S,” “W” and “P” such as code “SSS/DDD/CCCCCC” where each characteris part of the code. Accounting codes, such as General Ledger codes, canthus be defined by the transaction processor 110 as new expenses,revenues and/or other transaction aspects are encountered. These definedcodes may involve predefined aspects, such as those indicating that sucha defined code employ information including subsidiary, warehouse andproduct data as discussed above.

In another example embodiment, the transaction processor 110 monitorschanges to accounting data over time. The monitored changes are used fora variety of purposes, such as for generating reports, trackingcompliance and for making appropriate reversing entries to keepaccounting data such as general ledger data in order. For example, whena particular accounting field in a transaction document or othertransaction-related item is updated, the transaction processor monitorsthe update and accordingly updates associated fields (e.g., updates auser's General Ledger account).

Transaction data received at the transaction processor 110 iscross-referenced with security-type data stored in the memoryarrangement 112 in accordance with another example embodiment. Whentransaction data matches certain security-controlled criteria, thetransaction to which the transaction data belongs can be flagged orotherwise audited, for example, by government-type agencies. Forinstance, where an accounting classification type matches aclassification that is subject to governance, data relating to theparticular classification type can be automatically reported to a thirdparty, such as a government monitoring agency.

In another example embodiment that may be implemented with reference toFIG. 1, third-party interaction with transaction data processed by thetransaction processor 110 is used to audit exchange-rate information.For example, when transaction data includes information regarding aparticular currency to use, third-party exchange rate data can bematched to the transaction data. This match is used to automaticallyassign exchange rate information to individual transactions, forexample, as a function of expense-classification rules that direct theapplication of an exchange rate to a particular classification.

Fees are automatically assessed by the transaction processor 110, as afunction of processing carried out on behalf of users at one or more ofthe nodes 120-128. In some applications, the fees are flat-fee based,with a flat fee assessed to particular users in accordance withprocessing functions for that user. In other applications, fees areassessed on a use-basis, for example, where the volume of transactionsbeing processed corresponding to a particular fee amount. In still otherapplications, fees are assessed on a transaction basis, e.g., where thefee is a percentage of an amount of funds transferred in thetransaction. The fees are generally assessed to the party in thetransaction for which information is classified, and can be directlywithheld from funds transferred for the transaction where thetransaction processor 110 facilitates the transfer.

FIG. 1A shows an expense processing arrangement 105 adapted forseparately tracking and auditing transaction data for regulatory-typecompliance functions, according to another example embodiment of thepresent invention. The arrangement 105 includes an expense-trackingprocessor 130, an auditing processor 140 and, in applications whereoutside reporting is implemented, a reporting processor 150. In someapplications, multiple auditing processors are implemented for accessingclassified expense data relating to different selected businessentities. Where reporting is carried out via the reporting processor150, an output from the reporting is made available to one or moreentities, depending upon the reporting application. By way of example, aregulatory entity 160 is shown in FIG. 1A receiving such reportingoutput, with the type of accounting data being processed being expensedata. This approach is also applicable to the processing of revenue,with appropriate expense functions being implemented with revenuefunctions.

The expense-tracking processor 130 monitors transaction data, associatestracked expense data with a tracking parameter (e.g., an expenseclassification code) using expense classification rules 132 and storesthe associated expense data in a memory arrangement 112, shown andlabeled to correspond to the memory arrangement 112 in FIG. 1. Thetransaction data is provided, e.g., by one or more transaction partiesin connection with an agreement such as a contract for goods and/orservices. The expense classification rules 132 include classificationinformation related to compliance-related issues and, in someapplications, classification information that is entity-specific, suchas classification preferences for a particular transaction party. Aswith the above discussion, memory arrangement 112 is selectivelyimplemented with different data storage locations and/or approaches. Inthis regard, the memory arrangement 112 may include two or moredifferent data storage locations, accessible by the arrangement 105 (andthe arrangement 100) for appropriate functions.

The expense-tracking processor 130 uses transaction data from a varietyof sources, depending upon the application. For example, a transactionparty supplying a transaction document such as an order, an invoice or acustoms document can provide the transaction data. This suppliedtransaction data is generally electronically delivered or otherwise madeavailable to the expense-tracking processor 130. Where theexpense-tracking processor 130 is implemented for company-wideprocessing, a company's transactions are made available to theexpense-tracking processor 130. A business entity (e.g., relative toFIG. 1, at one of the nodes 120-128) makes its expense data available tothe expense-tracking processor 130. In some implementations, theexpense-tracking processor 130 processes transaction expense data on anactive transaction-by-transaction basis, utilizing incoming transactiondocuments to automatically classify, associate or otherwise processtransaction expense data on behalf of a user (e.g., a buyer or seller)while also providing tracking information for classifying expense datain accordance with applicable compliance functions. In otherimplementations, the expense-tracking processor 130 processes archivedinformation maintained for a variety of transactions involving aparticular business entity (e.g., as would be maintained in acompany-specific accounting record), with the classification functionscarried out by the expense-tracking processor focusing uponcompliance-related classification.

The auditing processor 140 audits the expense data classified by theexpense-tracking processor 130, using the expense classification rules132, and stored in the memory arrangement 112. The auditing is carriedout in accordance with applicable regulatory-type compliance rules toensure that the expense data is properly classified, e.g., as relativeto the use of the classified data to characterize a particular businessentity's business performance and financial well-being. In this regard,the auditing processor 140 implements compliance rules 142 relating tothe classification of expense data (and, where appropriate, otheraccounting data) to ensure that expense data is classified in accordancewith the regulatory-type compliance rules. These compliance rules 142are updated to reflect regulatory changes, and can be tailored to eachparticular company audited.

In some applications, the auditing processor 140 has direct access toinformation in the memory arrangement 112. For example, where theauditing processor and memory arrangement are implemented in a commontransaction arrangement, the auditing processor 140 can routinely,actively or otherwise access the memory arrangement 112 for retrievingand auditing the classified expense data in accordance with thecompliance rules 142. In this regard, the auditing processor 140selectively accesses the memory arrangement 112 for classified expensedata for a particular business entity undergoing an audit.

In other applications, a communications controller 135 is implementedwith the auditing processor 140 and/or with the memory arrangement 112for sending classified expense data to the auditing processor. Thecommunications controller 135 directly accesses the memory arrangement112 and selectively makes classified expense data available to theauditing processor 140. For instance, where the auditing processor 140requests data for a particular business entity (e.g., transactionparty), the communications controller 135 responds to the request bymaking classified expense data for the particular business entityavailable to the auditing processor. In some applications, this approachinvolves an authentication process, wherein the communicationscontroller 135 verifies that the requested classified expense data canbe delivered to the auditing processor 140 using a security parameter orother type of authentication approach. The classified expense data iscommunicated to the auditing processor 140 using conventionalcommunications channels, such as the Internet (wired/wireless bussing orother network-based communications).

In some applications, the auditing processor 140 has remotesecurity-based access to the classified expense data 112. For example,in a manner similar to that discussed above with the communicationscontroller 135, the auditing processor may provide an authenticationcriterion that is used by the memory arrangement 112 (or an associatedcontroller such as the communications controller 135 or theexpense-tracking processor 130) to authenticate the auditing processor140. The authentication generally grants data-specific access toinformation in the memory arrangement 112, for example, by grantingaccess to classified expensed data for a particular business entity or agroup of business entities for which the auditing processor isauthenticated. In some applications, user profiles such as thosediscussed above are used to authenticate a particular auditingprocessor; these user profiles may include information stored with aprofile for a particular auditing processor and/or with businessentities granting access to their data. Once authenticated, the auditingprocessor 140 can access information in the memory arrangement 112,relative to the authentication.

Where the auditing processor 140 audits a multitude of business entitieshaving their expense data classified and stored in the memoryarrangement 112 (or another memory arrangement), profile information foreach business entity is used to identify and track the results of theaudit for each entity. In some applications, the profile informationalso includes information used by the auditing processor 140 tospecifically tailor auditing functions to a particular entity. Forinstance, where a particular business entity requires specific auditingfunctions relative to the type of business it is involved with and asdictated by relevant regulatory-type compliance rules, profileinformation for that particular business entity reflect the specificauditing needs. Also, where a particular business entity requests aparticular auditing function or approach, such as those involving reportgeneration in a specific format or otherwise, these profiles are used bythe auditing processor 140 to carry out the requested function orapproach.

When implemented, the reporting processor 150 uses information generatedby the auditing processor 140 to generate a report and send that reportto specified recipients, such as a regulatory entity 160 as shown, or toa business entity for whom the audit is being performed.

The arrangement 105 and approach discussed herewith may be implementedwith a variety of expense, revenue and other transaction processingapproaches. For example, one or more of the functions shown in thearrangement 105 can be implemented in connection with the transactionprocessor 110 in FIG. 1. Selected functions (e.g., expense or revenuetracking, auditing and/or reporting) shown in and discussed inconnection with FIG. 1A are programmed into the transaction processor110 of FIG. 1. The transaction processor 110 carries out the functionsdiscussed herein as associated with the respective tracking, auditingand reporting processors 130, 140 and 150.

In certain applications, both tracking and auditing functions carriedout by the tracking and auditing processors 130 and 140 are implementedvia the transaction processor 110 but controlled by separate entities tofacilitate compliance with applicable accounting practices relative,e.g., to rules requiring the separation of such functions. For example,the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has required that auditing services becarried out by a separate entity, relative to those carrying outnon-auditing services. In this regard, user profiles or other rules atthe transaction processor 110 are maintained separately for thesefunctions and implemented such that tracking (or any non-audit service)is carried out under independent control, relative to any auditingfunctions. Access to the user profiles or other control characteristicsrelating to the tracking and auditing functions is accordingly limitedusing security measures such as those discussed above with FIG. 1. Withthis approach, tracking and auditing functions are carried out inconnection with the transaction processor 110 while maintaining separatecontrol of these functions and, accordingly, meeting compliance rulesrelating to such separate control.

In some applications, one or more of the tracking, auditing andreporting functions respectively carried out by processors 130, 140 and150 are implemented at one of the user nodes 120-128. An external entitysuch as an auditing or expense classification entity at one of the usernodes 120-128 interacts with the transaction processor 110 to executeassociated functions with transaction data processed by the transactionprocessor 110. As discussed above, access to data in the memoryarrangement 112 can be selectively controlled by the transactionprocessor 110, for example as implemented with the auditing processor140.

Fees are assessed for some or all of the processing functions shown inand described in connection with FIG. 1A. For example, where implementedwith the transaction processor 110 in FIG. 1, fees can be assessed asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 1. In addition, fees can beseparately assessed by expense-tracking entities operating or otherwiseproviding the expense-tracking processor 130, either directly or via thetruncation processor 110, where applicable. Similarly, fees can beseparately assessed by the entities operating or providing the auditingprocessor 140 and its functions. These fees can be automaticallyassessed via the arrangement 105 (and, where implemented 100) orindependently from these arrangements.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, another example embodiment of the presentinvention is directed to the implementation of one or more of the aboveapproaches in connection with the management and/or processing of auser's General Ledger. The expense-tracking processor 130 interacts withtransaction data and further interfaces with data in the memoryarrangement 112 to track expense data relative to the General Ledger.The memory arrangement 112 is generally implemented to store a chartstructure for each user's General Ledger Chart of Accounts, in additionto storing transaction data based rules for each user (e.g., asdiscussed with FIG. 1).

The expense classification rules 132 include General Ledger assignmentrules for assigning General Ledger accounting codes to expenses. Theexpense-tracking processor 130 uses the General Ledger assignment rulesto assign the General Ledger accounting codes, e.g., using a GeneralLedger assignment engine implemented via software at theexpense-tracking processor 130. When transaction data is received orotherwise accessed by the expense-tracking processor 130, the storeddata based rules are used to assign codes and other information, whereappropriate, to the transaction data for use in loading and/or updatingthe General Ledger chart structure for the relevant user in the memoryarrangement 112. This updated information is used by the relevant user(e.g., a buyer or seller party to a transaction) to advance progresstoward completion of a transaction, for example by facilitating theuser's assurance that performance of a particular transaction has beencarried out such that payment for the performance is ripe.

In some applications, expense-tracking processor 130 accesses data thatis generally stored in the database 112 and applies the expenseclassification rules 132 to the data. For instance, certain applicationsinvolve the storage of transaction expense data in connection with aparticular order number, invoice and/or vendor without specificreference to a type of good and/or service. Such storage may be effectedin connection with purchasing or other transaction processing functions.In these applications, the expense-tracking processor 130 uses theinformation already made available via these applications, and applies aspecific accounting code that is relative to the particular type of goodand/or service in the information. In some instances, this approachinvolves the assignment of accounting codes on a line-item by line-itembasis, with each line item in a particular set of transactioninformation audited individually to ensure proper accounting codeassignment, e.g., where transaction information includes goods and/orservices belonging to different accounting fields.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an approach for transaction managementinvolving the assignment of accounting codes to transaction data,according to another example embodiment of the present invention. Theapproach shown in FIG. 2 and discussed below is applicable, for example,to one or more of the approaches discussed in connection with FIG. 1.Similarly, the transaction processing arrangement 100 shown in FIG. 1may be implemented with the approach shown and discussed with FIG. 2.

At block 210, user profile attributes are stored for a plurality ofusers, with each user having a set of profile attributes that includeaccounting code assignment preferences (e.g., in connection withtransaction data based rules). At block 220, a transaction-baseddocument is received at a transaction processor, with the documenthaving one or more accounting-type fields with accounting data therein.The transaction-based document is parsed at block 230 and, using datafrom the document, one or more user profiles to which thetransaction-based document applies is associated with the document. Forexample, by comparing owner information from the transaction-baseddocument with owner information in stored user profiles, ownership ofthe document can be attributed to a particular user, from whichaccounting code assignment preferences can be applied. As anotherexample, by associating the document with a particular transaction, userprofiles for parties to the transaction can be associated with thetransaction-based document (e.g., with the accounting data beingprocessed differently for different parties to the transaction).

At block 240, the accounting code assignment preferences of one of theuser profiles associated with the transaction-based document at block230 are used to assign accounting codes to accounting-type data from thedocument. Such data may include, for example, expense-type data relatingto a particular type of expense to which the transaction-based documentapplies, or revenue-type data relating to a revenue to which thetransaction-based document applies. At block 250, the transactionprocessor classifies the accounting-type data from the accounting fieldsin the document into categories using the accounting codes. Suchcategories may include, for example, categories used for taxation andother auditing purposes and/or for internal tracking for purposesincluding entry into typical accounting-type documents, such as aGeneral Ledger.

In one implementation, the user profile attributes stored at block 210include tailored accounting rules for processing accounting type datafrom transaction-based documents. Such rules may be, for instance,provided and/or edited by users for which profile attributes are stored.When certain characteristics of the accounting-type data correspond to aparticular transaction data based rule, that rule is used in applying anaccounting code to the accounting-type data at block 240 and/or forfurther processing the data as a function of the accountingclassification applied to the data.

In a more particular example embodiment of the present invention,accounting-type data is stored in an anchor location at block 260corresponding to a particular transaction using data from thetransaction-based document and stored transaction-profile attributes.The anchor location is defined as a function of transaction informationand used for relating different documents pertaining to a particulartransaction together. These transaction-profile attributes may, forexample, include attributes stored at block 210 in connection with thestorage of user profile attributes and, further, may include data thatparallels user profile attributes to parties to transaction to which thetransaction-profile attributes apply.

In one instance, when a particular anchor location is assigned an anchoridentification (ID) that corresponds to (or, in some instances,includes) a particular accounting classification, the accounting-typedata is stored in the particular anchor location for the particularaccounting classification. The appropriate anchor ID effectivelyidentifies the accounting-type data with the accounting classificationand correspondingly can be further used for accounting, auditing andother purposes, simply by retrieving data assigned the particularaccounting classification. For further discussions of more detailedexampled embodiments in this regard, reference may be made to U.S.patent document, identified by application Ser. No. 10/864,761(USBA.120PA) filed Jun. 9, 2004 and entitled “Automated TransactionProcessing System and Approach,” incorporated herein by reference.

As with FIG. 1A, the approaches shown in and described in connectionwith FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are selectively implemented withrevenue-classification approaches, with expense-classification functionscarried out for revenue classification using revenue classificationrules in place of (or in addition to) expense classification rules.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an approach to managing expense datafor one or more particular entities to which the expense data applies,according to another example embodiment of the present invention. Atblock 310, incoming expense data is parsed to identify characteristicsfor use in expense code assignment and to associate the expense datawith a particular user profile. The incoming expense data may, forexample, be presented in the form of a transaction-based document orother type of data arrangement presenting data that can be associatedwith a particular transaction. Identifiable expense characteristics mayinclude, for example, a type of good or service and/or a type ofbusiness function (e.g., manufacturing, entertainment, etc.) to which aparticular expense applies.

At block 320, the incoming expense data is automatically associated withuser profile data for a user (i.e., business entity) to which theexpense data applies. This user may, for example, be a buyer in atransaction between the buyer and a seller, with the expense datapertaining to the goods and/or services being purchased by a buyer. Suchuser profile information can be stored for a multitude of businessentities using, for example, a transaction management system forassigning expense data. The association between the expense data and theuser profile data uses information in the expense data, or in a documentor other data arrangement in which the expense data is presented, forcomparing with user profile data and identifying a match therebetween.The matching user profile data is thus automatically associated with theexpense data.

At block 330, an expense code is assigned to the expense data usingstored assignment rules that are applicable to the identifiedcharacteristics. These stored assignment rules are, for example, generalrules applicable to more than one user or be tailored specifically to auser as stored in connection with user profile information andaccordingly associated with the expense data at block 320. The diversityand quantity of types of accounting codes are applicable to a multitudeof expense categories and accordingly can be tailored to a specificentity's particular business scenario (if specific assignment rules areused). For instance, a certain type of expense code may be establishedfor application to entertainment expenses applicable to entertainingbusiness clients. In other examples, the expense code is established fordisposable expenses such as utility fees, the expense code isestablished for capital goods requiring tracking for depreciation, suchas manufacturing equipment. These and other examples are readilyimplemented using this approach.

At block 340, data having assigned expense codes is automaticallycategorized into expense category tables using transaction profile datafor the particular user for which the expense data is being processed.Each of the assigned expense codes (e.g., including those discussed inthe preceding paragraph) can be fit into particular expense categories,some of which may overlap. These expense categories, as with the expensecodes, can include a multitude of types of expense categories, dependingupon the implementation and accounting needs of the user for which thedata is being categorized. In addition, the expense categories can betiered using, for example, a general type category to encompass two ormore specific categories (e.g., a single taxation category may apply tomany different specific expense categories).

At block 350, expense category tables are used to generate informationaldata that can be used to evaluate aspects of an entity to which thecategorized expense data applies. In one instance, the expense categorytables can involve the use of an expense assignment approach involvingthe categorization of expenses for use in generating entity evaluationdata for reporting business entity profitability characteristics. Thisentity evaluation data is useful and advantageous, for example, intracking information for compliance with applicable accounting laws andfor providing accurate business wellness information to shareholders andpotential investors using, e.g., profit and loss statements and othercommunication tools.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an approach to transaction managementwith invoice approval and General Ledger account code assignmentapplicable to transactions involving buyers and sellers, according toanother example embodiment of the present invention. A transactionprocessor 410 carries out invoice processing and General Ledger (GL)code assignment functions, using information stored in a database 440. Abuyer processor 420 implemented, e.g., at a buyer's location and/or inconnection with the transaction processor 410, facilitates invoiceapproval. Where appropriate, the buyer processor 420 also facilitatesthe integration of expense data with a General Ledger Chart of Accounts430 for the buyer. Upon invoice approval, the transaction processor 410facilitates payment via a financial institution 450.

As part of a payment process associated with a transaction between abuyer and seller, the seller sends an invoice 405 to the transactionprocessor 410. The invoice 405 is typically communicated in the form ofan electronic document or other type of electronic data. An invoiceprocessor 412 at the transaction processor 410 parses received invoicedata to obtain information that can be used to identify the invoice,such as by identifying the seller or buyer. Using identificationinformation, the transaction processor 410 requests user profile andexpense classification rules from the database 440. The database 440includes such user profiles 444 and expense classification rules 442associated with a variety of buyers and sellers using the transactionprocessor 410, generally or individually; the various buyers and sellersprovide the profiles 444 and expense classification rules 442 to beassociated with their particular transactions.

The expense classification rules 442 include data that is usable by thetransaction processor 410, in connection with information from theinvoice 405, to assign GL codes to data (e.g., line-item data) in theinvoice. In this regard, the expense classification rules 442 includeone or more of a variety of types of assignment data that facilitatesuch GL code assignment. This assignment data may include informationfor generating a new GL code in accordance with the invoice 405,information for assigning codes using product identification informationin the invoice, or others. For example, the assignment data in theexpense classification rules 442 may indicate that products having aproduct code “ABC” are to be classified under expense category “XYZ.”The assignment data may be specific to vendors (e.g., to a vendorsending the invoice 405), or general to more than one vendor. In someapplications, the identification of a vendor sending the invoice 405 isused in connection with the expense classification rules 442 assigningthe GL code, where a vendor identification is used solely or inconnection with other information in the invoice 405 in assigning anaccounting code thereto. Other expense classification rules 442 mayinclude computer code that is executable by the transaction processor410, in connection with selected transaction information in the invoice405, to generate an appropriate accounting code. Unified product codes(UPCs) associated with goods and/or services on the invoice 405 may alsobe used in classifying data therein. In general, the expenseclassification rules 442 include any information specified by atransaction party and that can be used with transaction data to assignGL codes. This specified information varies from situation to situation,and thus is specifically tailored, where appropriate, to particulartransaction parties. For purposes of this embodiment (and otherwiseherein), the expense classification rules 442 are generated to suitspecific applications and these applications are contemplated herein.

In some applications, the database 440 is implemented locally (i.e.,connected and/or connected via a local area network (LAN)) with thetransaction processor 410, with data requests involving memory retrievaltypes of request typically implemented with a personal computer or aLAN. In other applications, the database 440 is located remotely, withthe profile and classification rule requests being sent, e.g., via acommunications link such as the Internet, verified at the database 440and processed as a function of content in the request such as profileidentification and/or security data.

User profile and expense classification rule data 441 is sent from thedatabase 440 to the transaction processor 410 in response to thecorresponding request. The data 441 is used by the transaction processorto process the invoice 405 by generating an invoice approval request forthe proper buyer (here associated with the buyer processor 420). Forexample, user profiles such as those discussed above can be used toassociate a particular invoice with a particular transaction and/orparty to the transaction, such as the buyer and/or seller.

If the invoice is approved by the buyer processor 420, invoice paymentauthorization data 421 is generated and sent to the transactionprocessor 410. The invoice is approved (or not approved), for example,using data such as profile or contract data accessible to the buyerprocessor 420, or manually with a human input used to approve theinvoice for payment.

The transaction processor 410 responds to the invoice paymentauthorization data by implementing the GL code assignment engine 414 toassign a General Ledger code to the invoice. Where the invoice includesmore than one item, the GL code assignment engine 414 separately assignsGeneral Ledger codes to each line item. The transaction processor 410uses the assigned General Ledger codes to generate expense data 411associated with the codes and, where multiple line items are involved,with each line item and corresponding amount associated with codesrelative to that line item.

The expense data 411 is sent by the transaction processor to the buyerprocessor 420, which in turn sends the expense data 423 for storage withthe buyer's associated General Ledger Chart of Accounts 430. In someapplications, the buyer processor 420 adds data to the expense data 423,relative to the received expense data 411, such as for recordkeeping orother purposes. In other applications, the transaction processor 410sends the expense data 411 directly to the buyer's General Ledger Chartof Accounts 430, bypassing the buyer processor 420. In still otherapplications, the transaction processor 410 sends the expense data 411to both the buyer processor 420 and the buyer's General Ledger Chart ofAccounts 430, with the expense data 423 not being sent by the buyerprocessor ad indicated above.

The expense data 411 is optionally sent to the database 440 for storagewith GL-code classified record data 446, with an association to theparticular transaction party or parties to whom the expense datarelates. This information can be subsequently accessed, for example, fortracking or other purposes, by parties to the transaction or outsideparties, such as a regulatory agency.

The General Ledger code (or codes) associated with the expense data 423is used to identify a particular account (shown as accounts 1-N by wayof example) in which to post the expense data. Each account isassociated with a particular unique GL code or set of unique GL codes.In this regard, expense data is placed into an account identified by anappropriate GL code.

In some applications, the transaction processor 410 is also programmedto authorize payment for the invoice (or portion thereof) indicated asauthorized in the invoice payment authorization data 421. In thisregard, a payment processor 416 generates payment authorization data417, including information to identify the source and destination offunds, such as the buyer's bank or credit account and the seller's bankaccount. The payment processor 416 authorizes the payment using, e.g.,information in the invoice, user profiles 444 and, in some instances,contract information 448 that is also returned with the profile andexpense classification rule data 441.

Once payment is authorized, the payment authorization 417 is sent to afinancial institution 450, such as a bank or credit institution, whichin turn sends a payment 451 to the seller (or the seller's financialinstitution). In some applications, the financial institution 450 is thebuyer's financial institution and, in other applications, the financialinstitution 450 is associated with the transaction processor 410 andmakes the payment 451 on a credit basis on behalf of the buyer, and inturn collects from the buyer for the payment 451 plus any associatedpayment fees.

In some applications, communication is made between the buyer's GeneralLedger Chart of Accounts 430 and the database 440 for storing expenseclassification rules with General Ledger account code information 433.With this approach, updates made to the buyer's General Ledger Chart ofAccounts 430 can be automatically updated in the database 440 for us inassigning expense classification via corresponding updates made with theexpense classification rules 442.

In another example embodiment of the present invention, the transactionprocessor 410 and the buyer processor 420 work to reassign GeneralLedger codes to data stored in the buyer's General Ledger Chart ofAccounts 403 in response to an update in either expense classificationrules relating thereto or an update in a characterization of processedtransaction data. For example, after the invoice 405 has been processed,the expense data therein has been assigned a GL code and the assigneddata stored, a subsequent change to the buyer's accounting practicesand/or to regulatory-type rules associated with the expenseclassification may require a change in classification rules. In thisregard, the buyer processor 420 and/or the transaction processor 410identifies expense data from the buyer's General Ledger Chart ofAccounts 430 that is susceptible to the rule change and accordinglyreassigns GL codes to the data in accordance with the above GL codeassignment process. In some applications, this reassignment is carriedout in response to a particular GL code expiring, relative to a timingcharacteristic relating to the GL code.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for a system and approach to transactionmanagement with accounting data classification and complianceprocessing, according to another example embodiment of the presentinvention. This approach may be implemented, for example, in connectionwith the assignment approach described in connection with FIG. 4. Inthis embodiment, a data association processor 520, classificationprocessor 530 and compliance processor 550 interact with information ina database 501 to process and/or generate accounting-related data andfurther to facilitate the classification of data in accordance withcompliance rules 504. The database 501 stores accounting classificationrules 502, user profiles 503 and compliance rules 504 provided by users(e.g., transaction parties and regulatory entities) as shown input tothe database.

When transaction data 510 such as an invoice or receipt is received atthe data association processor 520, the data is parsed for informationthat can be used to associate the data with the profile of the usersending or otherwise associated with the data, such as a buyer and/orseller who are party to a common transaction. The data associationprocessor 520 sends a profile request to the database 501 (e.g., with acontroller at the database 501 processing the request), which returns auser profile 522 that includes information that can be used by the dataassociation processor to associate the transaction data with one or moreusers. The data association processor 520 sends associated transactiondata 525 to the classification processor 530 and, in some applications,to the database 501 for recordkeeping.

The classification processor 530 receives and processes the associatedtransaction data by using the association to generate a classificationrule request for retrieving accounting classification rules 502 from thedatabase 501. For instance, where the associated transaction dataspecifies a particular user, the classification rule request includesinformation identifying that user and, where appropriate, a particulartype of transaction data for use in identifying a classification type.Classification rules 532 are returned to the classification processor530, which classifies accounting data in the transaction data byassigning a classification to each type of accounting data in thetransaction data. The classification processor 530 then sends classifiedaccounting data 535 for storage in an associated user's General LedgerChart of Accounts 540 and to a compliance processor 550. In someapplications, the classified accounting data 535 is also sent to thedatabase 501 for storage with transaction record data 505 that can beaccessed, e.g., by a party to a transaction or a regulatory entity suchas entity 560.

The user's General Ledger Chart of Accounts 540 is implemented, forexample, at a particular user's place of business or in connection witha managed transaction processor. In this context, and referring to FIG.1, the General Ledger Chart of Accounts 540 is selectively implementedat user's place of business such as at user node 120 or at thetransaction processor 110.

The compliance processor 550 processes the classified accounting data535 by requesting a compliance rule from the database 501, which returnscompliance rules 552 associated with the particular type ofclassification of the accounting data 535. These compliance rulesinclude information such as that indicating acceptable accountingapproaches for particular types of expenses and/or revenues, reportingrequirements or other requirements typically associated withregulatory-type accounting rules. Where appropriate, compliance data 555is sent to a regulatory entity 560 for use in auditing or otherwisemonitoring the accounting practices of entities associated with thetransaction data 510.

In another example embodiment, the accounting classification rules 502contemplate timing aspects of a transaction with which the transactiondata 510 is associated, and the accounting data is assigned aclassification that includes information relating to the timing. Forexample, information identifying an effective time of a transaction canbe set by the occurrence of a particular event, such as the payment ofan invoice or the receipt of a payment. The effective time of thetransaction may also involve the use of an effective start or end date,with different classifications applying to a particular transaction asrelative to one or both of the start or end date. In this regard, theaccounting classification rules 502 may dictate that a particularclassification be assigned as relative to the timing of such an event orstart/end date. For example, when a particular classification is relatedto an accounting code that expires at the end of an accounting periodand is replaced with a new code after the expiration thereof, thisinformation is associated with the accounting classification rules 502and used by the classification processor 530 to appropriately classifydata relative to a timing characteristic.

In some applications, the classification rule request sent by theclassification processor 530 includes information indicating timingevents. The classification rules 532 returned are those rules associatedwith the timing events.

In other applications, the classification processor 530 requests atime-unspecific set of classification rules and parses returnedclassification rules 532 to identify rules therein to us in classifyingaccounting data.

While certain aspects of the present invention have been described withreference to several particular example embodiments, those skilled inthe art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention, aspects ofwhich are set forth in the following claims.

1. In a transaction payment system adapted to audit a transaction as afunction of contract terms agreed to by a buyer of merchant offeringsand a seller of the merchant offerings, a method comprising: auditingtransaction data for the transaction, as recorded on behalf of one ofthe buyer and the seller, against line-item-accounting-classificationrules provided by said one of the buyer and the seller.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, prior to auditing against line-item-expense-classificationrules, further comprising: authorizing payment for the transaction as afunction of the transaction data and the contract terms.
 3. The methodof claim 2, prior to authorizing payment for the transaction, furthercomprising: associating the transaction data with at least one of thebuyer and the seller, and in response to the associating, selecting thecontract terms used in authorizing payment.
 4. The method of claim 3,prior to auditing transaction data and after associating the transactiondata, further comprising: recording the transaction data on behalf ofand in association with said at least one of the buyer and the seller.5. The method of claim 4, wherein recording the transaction data onbehalf of and in association with said at least one of the buyer and theseller includes recording transaction data from a transaction-baseddocument under a general accounting code associated with at least one ofthe buyer and the seller, and wherein auditing transaction data againstline-item-accounting-classification rules provided by said one of thebuyer and the seller includes classifying transaction data includingline-item transaction data by associating said line-item transactiondata from the transaction-based document with a line-item accountingclassification.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein auditing transactiondata against line-item-accounting-classification rules provided by saidone of the buyer and the seller includes, for each line item in saidtransaction data, classifying the line-item transaction data under aline-item accounting classification as a function of theline-item-accounting-classification rules and the type of accountingdata in the line item.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein classifying theline-item transaction data under a line-item accounting classificationas a function of the line-item-accounting-classification rules and thetype of accounting data in the line item includes processingalphanumeric type line item identification in accordance with theline-item classification rules to identify the type of accounting datain the line item.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein classifying theline-item transaction data under a line-item accounting classificationas a function of the line-item-accounting-classification rules and thetype of accounting data in the line item includes processing a merchantofferings code in the line item identification in accordance with theline-item classification rules to identify the type of accounting datain the line item.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein classifying theline-item transaction data under a line-item accounting classificationas a function of the line-item-accounting-classification rules and thetype of accounting data in the line item includes processing a universalproduct code (UPC) in the line item identification in accordance withthe line-item classification rules to identify the type of accountingdata in the line item.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisingstoring the audited transaction data in association with an accountingclassification as a function of the auditing.
 11. The method of claim 1,further comprising monitoring changes to theline-item-accounting-classification rules.
 12. The method of claim 11,further comprising monitoring a user ID associated with a userimplementing changes to the line-item-accounting-classification rules.13. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing the line-itemaccounting-classification rules and wherein monitoring changes to theline-item accounting-classification rules includes monitoring changes tothe stored line-item accounting classification rules.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising storing the line-itemaccounting-classification rules and restricting access to the storedline-item accounting-classification rules.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein restricting access to the stored line-itemaccounting-classification rules includes granting access for modifyingthe stored line-item accounting-classification rules as a function of asecurity condition associated with a user for which access is to begranted.
 16. In a transaction processing system for automaticallyauditing and facilitating payment for a multitude of transactionsinvolving different transaction parties, a method for classifyingline-item entries in transaction-based documents characterizing merchantofferings between transaction parties subject to a contract, the methodcomprising: associating a transaction-based document with a transactionparty as a function of a user profile for the transaction party andinformation in the transaction-based document; authorizing payment forline-item entries in the transaction-based document as a function ofbusiness rules for the associated transaction party, the line-itementries and the contract; and for each line-item entry in thetransaction-based document, in response to payment being authorized forthe line-item entry, assigning an accounting classification code to theline item accounting data as a function of the line item accounting dataand business rules for the associated transaction party, and storingdata including a payment amount representing the line-item entry inassociation with the assigned accounting classification code.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein storing data including a payment amountrepresenting the line-item entry in association with the assignedaccounting classification code includes posting the payment amount to aGeneral Ledger Chart of Accounts, for the transaction party, under anaccount to which the assigned accounting classification code applies asdefined by the transaction party's business rules.
 18. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: storing accounting classification datawith the business rules as defined by an authorized user authorized bythe associated transaction party; and controlling user access to thestored accounting classification data as a function of authenticationinformation provided by a user seeking access.
 19. The method of claim16, wherein assigning an accounting classification code to the line itemaccounting data as a function of the line item accounting data and thebusiness rules for the associated transaction party includes comparinginformation in the line item accounting data to matching criteria in thebusiness rules and, in response to the comparison meeting selectedmatching criteria, identifying an accounting classification code thatmatches the line item accounting data and assigning the identifiedaccounting classification code to the line item accounting data.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein comparing information in the line itemaccounting data to matching criteria in the business rules includescomparing information that characterizes a type of merchant offering, towhich the line item accounting data applies, to matching criteriaidentifying the type of merchant offering.